President Trump has approved a presidential pardon for former MLB and Mets legend Darryl Strawberry, a White House official said Friday. Strawberry pleaded guilty in 1995 to tax evasion for failing to report income on his federal tax returns.
“President Trump has approved a pardon for Darryl Strawberry, three-time World Series champion and eight-time MLB All-Star,” the White House official said. “Mr. Strawberry served time and paid back taxes after pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion. Following his career, Mr. Strawberry found faith in Christianity and has been sober for over a decade — he has become active in ministry and started a recovery center which still operates today.”
Strawberry played seven seasons with the Mets, from 1983-90, and helped lead the team to its 1986 World Series championship. He went on to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants before returning to New York for the Yankees. He hit .259 with 335 homers, 1,000 RBIs and 221 stolen bases in 17 seasons. He also struggled with drug and alcohol addiction that repeatedly derailed his career.
Strawberry, now 63, thanked Mr. Trump in an Instagram post. He said the president called him to inform him of the pardon on Thursday.
“Thank you, President @realdonaldtrump for my full pardon and for finalizing this part of my life, allowing me to be truly free and clean from all of my past,” he wrote. “At 4:37pm yesterday I was home caring for my wife as she recovered from surgery, when my phone kept ringing relentlessly. Half asleep, I glanced over and saw a call from Washington, D.C. Curious, I answered, and to my amazement, the lady on the line said, ‘Darryl Strawberry, you have a call from the President of the United States, Donald Trump.'”
When he learned of the pardon, he said, “I was overwhelmed with gratitude.”
Noah K. Murray / AP
Strawberry recovered from a heart attack last year and was back in the spotlight when the Mets retired his number in an emotional ceremony at Citi Field in June 2024.
“I don’t regret what happened to me because it made me the man that I am today,” he told the crowd. “I’m thankful for every challenge that I had to face and every circumstance I had to go through, because it just just kept me moving forward to try to be a better man.”
